TIAN GUAN CI FU Fan fic stories

SNOW WHITE PAST - BLOOD RED FUTURE

- CHAPTER 1 -

Xie Lian moved routinely through the basement room of the small shop, working his way up the tight spiral staircase from the basement to the ground floor. He yawned, glancing out through the floor to ceiling display windows, seeing the city waking up outside of them. A couple of lone persons were working their way across the square before the small thrift shop, probably on their way to work. A few seemed to be making their way home, perhaps after having spent the night somewhere they didn't mean to. A smile tugged at Xie Lian's lips, before he turned his attention away from the window, and continued across the overcrowded shop.

Along the walls there were different colored shelves, the color chipper in places, worn around the edges. They were filled to the brim with newly fixed lamps, old chinaware, newly polished silverware, chipped cups and plates. In one corner of the shop there hung mended clothes for all ages, sizes and secondary genders, washed in scent removing detergent. There were collars, cuffs and jewelry next to it, but also tablecloths, curtains and other fabric things, folded neatly on shelves. In another corner there was furniture, which Xie Lian had done his best to shape up. The whole place was full of things nobody wanted, but which could still hold value.

At least Xie Lian thought they could.

He placed his teacup on the counter next to the register, rolling up his sleeves as he approached the side door, unlocked it, and opened. It led to a small storage, which had one door to the square outside, and one to the store. It was there people could drop off the things they didn't want anymore, but didn't have the heart to throw away. Xie Lian could relate to that. Today there were two lamps, probably broken, a bag of clothes, a shoe rack which was crooked, one box of books, and one cardboard box with drinking glasses. They looked pretty whole, which surprised him.

Xie Lian carried them all inside, bringing the handed in goods to the register. He decided that the shoe rack probably needed a little more love, and carried it down to the small scrub in which he could sand and paint it later that evening. He left the shoe rack there, making his way back up to the register. He looked over the haul, trying to decide where to start.

Perhaps with the clothes. They clearly smelled of alpha, and it might be best to deal with first. He picked the bag up and walked down with that as well, moving into the bathroom, where in the corner there stood a small washing machine. It had been handed in as well, and it had taken Xie Lian several tires and an equal amount of shocks to fix, but it had held together for three years for him now. Xie Lian put the clothes into the machine and started it, and then made his way back up. He walked over to the shop door and unlocked it, turning the sign to signal that the store was open. He didn't expect anyone to come in this early, but since he had a tendency to get lost in his work, there was a real risk that he'd just forget to open the shop at all if he didn't do it now.

His next focus was the lamps. Xie Lian dug into the cords and did his best to try to find what was wrong with them. One of them seemed completely dead, the other glitching. Xie Lian had no education in electricity, but since lamps were the most common broken thing he found in the storage, it had become his speciality to fix them. He had both of them done fairly quickly, only having given him two minor electrocutions. His scent spiked in the air when it did, camellia cinnamon and maple laced with distress. His nose twitched, and he shook his head, his fingers tingling from the shock.

He had gotten halfway through pricing the box of books, having gotten lost in reading about ancient swords in one of them, when the door to the shop opened, the bell over the door jingling. A couple stepped inside, an alpha and an omega, arm in arm. Xie Lian greeted them with a smile, and the omega nodded in response, before they started making their way around the store. Xie Lian glanced up at the clock, blinking in surprise. He hadn't realised it had gotten so late in the morning. He had completely forgotten to eat something. He would have to go down into his small room next to the bathroom in the basement when the couple had left, in search of breakfast.